A Message from the Principal
"A Message from the Principal" is the second chapter of Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger. Synopsis The students listen to Mr. Kidswatter's announcement, but he goes on a little too long. Plot This chapter begins with Dameon running upstairs to Mrs. Jewls's class, though he seems to have forgotten just how high up the thirtieth story was. By the time he gets there, his legs hurt, his side aches, and there's a blister where his sneaker rubbed against his ankle. Mrs. Jewls welcomes him back, though Dameon notices something different about her, just nothing he can put his finger on. Mrs. Jewls asks him if he can grab her pencil, which she left in the office, and he turns around and heads downstairs to help his favorite teacher. Everyone staggers into Mrs. Jewls's class out of breath, though they are all happy to be back. Shouts of joy are heard around the room. Mrs. Jewls holds up two fingers, and Joy stops shouting. Before getting back to work, Mrs. Jewls takes a moment to hear about what everyone else has been learning. Mac is the first to volunteer, and he remarks that he learned about civilization. Mrs. Jewls asks what he could tell the class about civilization, and Mac isn't sure, but he knows he learned it. Rondi mentions learning about evaporation, but also has no clue what it is. Dana remarks that she learned about exaggeration, and starts exaggerating how much she learned about it. Mrs. Jewls remarks that Dana learned her lesson very well, Dana not realizing that she did. Mrs. Jewls announces they will get back to work where they left off, when Mr. Kidswatter's voice booms over the P.A. Mr. Kidswatter says good morning to the students, and expects for everyone to say it back, but no one does. He welcomes everyone back to Wayside School, and states that he is glad to see everyone again. He talks about today's lunch, which was actually cooked before the break, but he assures it'll be as tasty as ever. He also reminds the students of an important rule: to stay to the right when going upstairs, and to stay to the left when going downstairs in hopes that no one will bump into each other. Mr. Kidswatter remarks that everyone should have a good day, and that they are all friends, which Mrs. Jewls finds nice. However, Kidswatter suddenly goes onto a long rant about having to come back to the school during his vacation in Jamaica, and how no one in the school is really his friends. Someone tries to get Mr. Kidswatter to stop, with him being unaware everyone can hear him over the intercom. They remark for him to press a red button, but Mr. Kidswatter remarks that there is no red button. He finally finds the red button, and cuts his rant short. Characters *Dameon *Mrs. Jewls *Joy *Mac *Rondi *Dana *Mr. Kidswatter *Sharie *Miss Mush *Myron Trivia *This chapter is referenced in Wayside: The Movie, when Mr. Kidswatter holds a similar rant after Todd arrives at Wayside School. "The Rat Truth" also references this chapter, as Mr. Kidswatter refers to the students as "snot-nosed brats" in that episode. *The gag where Mr. Kidswatter asks students to stay to their right where going upstairs and stay to their left when going downstairs actually appears to originate in Julie Brinckloe's illustration for "Dameon," albeit, the other way around. This possibly marks one of the only times in which the illustrations inspired the text of a later book. Gallery A Message from the Principal 1995.jpg|Joel Schick illustration A Message from the Principal 2003.jpg|Adam McCauley illustration A Message from the Principal Illustration.jpg|Peter Allen illustration Category:Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger chapters Category:Book chapters